Sympoz Inc.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: COMPANY

INITIAL LIGHT BULB After working together at Web companies in California (eBay) and Colorado (ServiceMagic.com), John Levisay and Josh Scott launched their own Internet startup with ServiceMagic.com veterans Andrew Rogers, Todd Tobin and Bret Hanna in Sympoz, aiming to bring a classroom experience to online education.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Scott says the idea arose from personal need. "We wanted to tap into continuing education, but it was difficult to do with busy schedules," he says. "Online, nothing was very satisfying."

Levisay says the latter typically offers a "passive" environment that is akin to "the back of the classroom." The key question: "How do you create that magic of a classroom online and make it asynchronous?" Sympoz answers it with what Scott describes as "time-indexed technology" that fosters instructor-student interaction.

Sympoz is now 16 employees strong - and hiring - with Levisay and Scott respectively serving as CEO and vice president of product development.

IN A NUTSHELL For each course, Sympoz produces eight to 15 20- to 30-minute high-quality, high-definition videos with experts. Students can pose questions during the lecture that get tagged "contextually at the right time in the video," Scott says, and experts answer in the same comment field, typically within 24 hours. Users can also take time-tagged notes as they view the lecture videos and access course materials with a click of the mouse.

"We believe there are experts in every field uniquely qualified to teach a class," Levisay says. "This is a great way for them to monetize their craft or trade." About half of the videos are produced at the company's in-house studio in downtown Denver, with the remainder typically being shot at the expert's location. Experts are...